Driving mechanism



2J EQZE V. vW. KLIESRATH DRIVING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 21, 1955 5 sheets-sheet 1 H Hmmkli,

March i, w38. v. wl KLlEshRATH l i ZJQZR DRIVING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 21, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. VlcTo/e W KL/:SPATH Qu ATTORNEY `archL 1933.

v. w. KLIESRATH Zwm DRIVING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 21, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENToR. VcroreW KL/Efanm ATTORNEY.

H T. A R S m .L K v DRIVING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 21., 193s 5 shets-sneet 5 VENTOR. Vfcmrs 51' 1 1 55mm Patented Mar. 1, 193s PATENT GFFICE 4 2,110,021 nmvmc Mechanism Victor W.

land, N. poration, `York Kliesrath, Port Washington,

Y., assigner to The Steel Wheel Cr- Ohicago, lll., a corporation of New application January zi. 103s. serial matassa 14 calm. (c1. 18e-isn.

'I'his invention relates to driving mechanism for vehicles or the like, and is illustrated as embodied in a'novel front-wheel drive automobile.

'An object ofthe invention is to provide com- 5 pact and simple but effective driving mechanism,

especially adapted fora. vehicle of this type, preferably solarranged that it adds very little to the length of the engine or power unit.

In one desirable arrangement this 'result is secured by combining the change-speed gearing of the driving mechanism .with the differential which drives the two front wheels, and preferably also combining in the 'same unit a reverse gearing or drive. This gives a drive mechanism unit which adds very little tothe length ofthe engine proper, thereby overcoming one serious disadvantage of previous frontfwheel-drive designs.

. According to an important feature oi' the lnvention, advantage is taken of the described combination of the change-speed gearing with the differential to secure what is (in eect) at all speeds, or at least at all the usual speeds, a "direct drive, by which is ordinarily meant a drive in which the only gear reduction between the engine and the wheels is that provided by the y through a suitable clutch by the engine crank shaft and mounted for rotation about the axis of rotation ofthe crankshaft. 'I'he differential is shown as having a plurality of driven gears of lectively driven by one or the other of corresponding drive pinions `on the engine-driven shaft.

spaced vertically from, and preferably below the axis of the above-described engine-driven shaft, so that the lattermay extend entirely across the differential andif vdesired have supportingbearbevel teeth of spiral form, sometimes called skew gears", to make this arrangement possible. -`This permits one of the pinions to engage its driven differential bevel ring gear on the oppo- 55 'site side of the differential from the others, theredifferent diameters, and which may conveniently be bevel ring gears secured to the differential, se-

The parts are arranged with the axis of the differential (and of its wheel-driving axle shafts) ings at both sides thereof. The pinions may have by providing in a very simple manner a reverse gear. Novel interlocking means may be provided to insure that no more than one of the pinions will be in operative driving connection with the differential at any one time.

In using the described novel driving mechanism for driving the front wheels of a motor vehicle,`

- I prefer to take advantage of the arrangement to pivot the entire engine or power unit for movement about the above-mentioned axis of the engine-driven shaft and of the enginejcrankshaft,` with yielding means provided to restrain its pivotal'movement and absorb the reaction torque of the engine without transmitting it to the vehicle body. The yielding means for this purpose may advantageously be resilient, or yieldingiy-mounted, axle. substitutes cpnnected directly to the power unit and rotatably carrying the road wheels, whereby the reaction torque of the en. gine is yieldingly transmitteddirectly tothe road wheels.

operation of change-speed gearing,` preferably combined with a diierential as 'described above, and which forms a part of such a pivotally mounted power unit, by means which is mounted separarely from the unit which shifts the gearing substantially unaffected by pivotal movement of the unit of which the gearing forms a part. Thus 'the part'of the control means which is actuated by the driver is utterly unaifected by engine reactions or vibrations and in fact, since the reactionsA or vibrations are transmitted directly to the road wheels, they may exist in considerable amplitude with the driver entirely unaware of them even if they occur while he is shifting gears.

In one arrangement this is accomplished by shifting the pinions, or clutch members selectively connecting the pinions to the engine-driven shaft.' or the like, by means of operating devices such as levers which are fulcrumed or otherwise mounted on the support which pivotally car'ries the power unit,v instead of being mounted in the usual manner. directly on the unit. Since the pinions and their clutch members are co-axial with respect to the engine pivot mounting, as explained above, these levers or equivalent devvices shift them back and forth, as required, entirely unaffected Jby pivotal movement ofthe power unit.

In anothervdesirable arrangement, the shiftv ing members are mounted inside the pivoted" power unit, being for-exampleias shown) vertical levers pivoted at their lower ends to the differential-transmission housing, and are operated by means, such as flexible Bowden controls of a novel push-and-pull type, which themselves are unaiected by movement of the levers as the power unit swings about its pivot mounting and which therefore compensate for such movement.

The above and other objects and features of the invention, including various novel constructions and desirable particular arrangements, will be apparent from the following description of the illustrative embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial longitudinal section through the front end of a motor vehicle embodying my invention, inv a plane just inside the near wheel; v Figure 2 is a horizontal section, on the line 2 2 of Figure 1, through one embodiment of the novel transmission and differential mechanism;

Figure 3 is a. vertical section through this mechanism, on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a partial section, on the line 4-4 ofFigure 2 showing the mounting and arrangement of the gear-shiftingmeans;

Figure 5 is a partial section on the line 5--5 of 'Figure l and showing the driver-operated part of the gear shifting mechanism;

Figure 6 is a horizontal section corresponding to Figure 2 but showing a modified arrangement of the gearing;

Figure 7 is a. view partly in side elevation and partly in section on the line 1-1 of Figure 6, and showing the arrangement of the gear shifting means of that figure;

Figure 8 is a section illustrating the construction of the novel Bowden operating means of Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a view corresponding to part of Figure 1 and showing a modiiication'of the operating mechanism, in which rigid rods and levers are substituted in a novel manner for the improved Bowden operating means of Figure 1;

Figure 10 is a partial section on the line iii-l0 of Figure 9 and showing one manner of sealing the opening through which the operating lever extends into the gear housing; land Figure 11 is a partial section corresponding to Figures 1 and 9 and showing a modified form of operating means.

In the attached drawings my invention is shown as embodied in an automobile or other vehicle, of the type which is more fully described, and which is claimed, in my co-pending application No. 651,821 i'lled January 14, 1933. In this particular type of motor vehicle the car is driven by an engine, preferably arranged in a power unit with a clutch and a. change-speed transmission and a differential, and which drives the front wheels of the vehicle. The power unit, as more fully explained below and in my said co-pending application, is preferably pivotally mounted so that it does not transmit its torque reaction to the vehicle body, and I prefer to mount directly on the pivoted power unit yieldingly held axlel sections or the like which form in effect individually-sprung mountings for the front road wheels.

this type for purposes of illustration only, some features of the invention being equally applicable to vehicles of other types.

In the illustrated arrangement, the box-section base of the vehicle body (which forms in effect a substitute for the usual chassis frame) is illustrated at I6, and has bolted or otherwise secured thereto a transversely-extending dash member I8 which is shown as having formed integrally therewith an instrument board 20, and which has approximately at its center a bearing 22 pivotally receiving a cylindrical boss 24 formed on the rear face of the cylinder block of an engine 26 which forms part of the above-described power unit. The dash I8 has bolted or otherwise secured thereto a forwardly-extending frame or support 28 of generally pyramidal form, which is arranged to have its parts on opposite sides of and above the engine 26, and which carries at its front end a bearing 30 pivotally receiving another boss 32 coaxial `with respect to the boss 24. The boss 32 is formed on the forward end of a housing 34 which encloses a novel transmission and differential mechanism, and which may be integral with a housing 36 for aclutch 36. The housing 34-36 may be bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the engine 26 to form a power unit, or what is usually called a unit power plant.

The clutch 36 is arranged to connect the engine to, and to disconnect the engine from, an engine driven Ashaft 40 which is arranged to drive, through the novel transmission and differential described below, live axle shafts 42 extending through jointed housings 44 and driving the road wheels 46 in the same general manner as more fully explained in my above-identified co-pending application. The road wheels are each rotatably carried by a suitable support (not shown herein) mounted at the outer ends of an upper axle section 48 and a lower ff-shaped axle section 56, yieldably mounted on opposite sides of the housing 34 inthe same manner as fully described in my said co-pending application.

According to an important feature of the present invention, the engine driven shaft 40 is arranged to drive at different speeds, and in either forward or reverse direction, the axle shafts 42, which are arranged at right angles thereto, through novel gear connections or the like driving one or the other of a plurality of driven bevel differential gears or the like described below. These driven gears are bolted or otherwise rigidly connected to the housing 52 of a differential containing a plurality of differential pinions 54 carried by a transverse shaft 56 and meshing with driven bevel pinions 58 keyed to the adjacent ends of the two shafts 42. yThe adjacent ends of the shafts 42 are rotatably supported by the opposite ends of the housing 52, these ends being journalled in roller or other bearings 60 which therefore serve to support both the ldifferential and the vaxle shafts. The bearings 60 are carried by the opposite side walls of the housing 34 and are held by adjustable ring nuts 62 threaded into the housing.

In the particular embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3, the differential has a large-diameter driven ring gear 64, shown as having skew-bevel teeth, and a smaller-diameter similar driven ring gear 66. According to one feature of the present invention, the high and low speeds of the automobile are secured by direct driving of one or the other of these two gears, so that in effect the vehicle has at both speeds what is known as a direct drive, i. e. a drive in which the only geared connectionis in the differential. Prefer- The shaft 48 is shown rotatably supported by ,ably reverse drive isalso a. "direct drive secured by engagement with -one of these dierentlal gears.

In the arrangement being describedythe engine driven shaft 48 which is driven by the clutch 38 extends forward perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the differential and slightly below the plane of the axle shafts 42, and has sleeved thereon driving means shown as three bevel pinionsl 68, 18, and 12. The pinions 68 and 18 mesh with the driven gears 64 andk 66 respectiyely, between the clutch andthe differential, while the `pinion 12 meshes with the driven gear 64 on the roller or other bearings 14 .carried by the housing 34.

Either of ,the pinions 68 or 18 can be clutched to the engine-driven shaft 4,8 by means such as a clutch sleeve 16. This sleeve is keyed on the shaft, and is movable axially thereof to bring clutch teeth at its rearward end into mesh selectively either with corresponding teeth formed on on the shaft, and which is formed with clutch teeth adapted lfor inter-engagement with corresponding teeth formed on the base of the pinion 12. The clutch member 84 is operated by means shown as a shifter-fork lever 88 pivoted on -a boss 88 formed on the casing 84. 'I'he levers 86 and 88, or their equivalents, ar selectively operable to give'high or low or reverse drive, by shifter rods 88 and 92 or the like pivoted thereto. Each of these rods is operable by the .driver through suitableconnections, one form of which is shown in detail in Figure 8.

This particular form of operating mechanism "is ofthe Bowden type and includes a flexible tension cable 84 connected to the rod 98 or 92 4at one end and to an operatingplunger 86 mounted in the dash 28 and having -a pull handlel 98 at its other end. On this cable are threaded interiitting compression elements |88 having a ball and socket engagement with each other, there being shoulders at each end ofthe cable between which the compression elements are confined. The composite tension vand compression element thus produced is slidably arranged in a Bowden' 'type flexible conduit |82, which is secured to a boss on the housing 34 at its forward end and secured to the instrument board ,or dash member 28 at its rearward end. It will be seen that this permits of either push or pull operation of either of the levers 86 or 88 by the driver entirely un'- y affected by pivotal movement of the power unit "in which the levers 86 and 88 are arranged.

As best shown in Figure 5, the operating means for the two levers is preferably provided with interlocking means which prevents the operation of either of the levers 88 or 86 unless the other one is in neutral position.'l The particular means illustrated includes an interlocking ball |84, movable either into an annular recess |86 in the.

plunger |88 whose movement ,controls the operation of the lever 88 or into a. corresponding recess ||8 in a plunger ||2 whose movement controls the operation of thev lever 86. Yielding means, such as spring-pressed balls 4 adapted tov ilt in semi-spherical sockets ||6-formed in the plungers |88 and ||2, may be provided to hold the' plungers resiliently in their several positions.

It will-be seen that the plunger ||2 has two positions: its full-line position in which it is in neutral and its dotted-line position in which the pinion 12 is clutched to the shaft48. The plunger, |88 has three positions, including one extreme dotted-line position in which the pinion-18 is clutched to the shaft 48, and another extreme dotted-line position in which the pinion 68 is clutched to that shaft, together with an intermediate fulI-line neutral position. It will also be seen that the plunger |88 cannot be moved from its neutral position unless the plunger '||2 is in neutral, and that the plunger H2 cannot bemoved unless the plunger 88 is in neutral. It will also be seen' that the sluiting of the gears into high, low, orreverse is entirely unaffected by 4pivotal movement of the power unit'.

and by means such as a roller bearing |26 carried by a vertical downwardly-extending post |28 (Figure 7) secured in any desiredmanner to the casing 34. The shaft |28 has mountedthereon a. reverse drive pinion |38 meshing with a driven bevel gear |32 mounted onthe differential casing 52 onone sideof the engine driven shaft |28,.

land also has two (high and low) Vdrive pinions |34 and |36 meshing respectively with driven bevel differential gears |88 and |48 carried by the diierential casing 52 on the other side of the engine driven shaft |28. i

The reverse drive pinion |38 may be clutched to or unclutched from the shaft |28 by axial vmovement of a clutch member |42 keyed to the shaft, and which is operated by means such as a shifter-fork lever |44 shown as' pivoted on the housing 34 for movement in a horizontal plane. The forward drive pinions |34 and |36 may be selectively clutched to or unclutchedfrom the engine driven shaft |28, by axial movement of a clutch member '|46 keyed to the shaft. Member |46 is operated by means such as a verticallyextending shifter-fork lever |48l shown as pivoted on the post |28.- Th'e levers |48 and |44 may be operated by the above-described mechanism shown in Figures 5 and 8 or by the alternative mechanism described below. TheA clutch member |42 is formedk with teeth adapted to mesh with corresponding teeth formed on the base of the pinion |88.` The clutch member |46 is formed with teeth adapted to mesh selectively Awith similar teeth formed on the base of the opposite side of that shaft, these drives will beY in opposite directions. Therefore, when the pinion |38 is driving the vehicle is moved backwards, while when either of vthe pinions |34 or |36 is driving the vehicle moves forward either at high or low speed. In all three cases, the

30 and held by means such as threaded nuts |24,

`pivoted power unit itself but which instead are v pivotedn on the support or frame 28 in which the power unit is mounted. The levers |52 and |54 therefore do not have anypivotal movement with the power unit'anditis feasible to connect them directly with plungers H2 and |08, respectively, by rigid operating rods |56 and |58.

The lower end of each lever is illustrated in Figure 10 as formed with a shifter-fork |60 operatively engaging the corresponding one of the clutch members 16, 84, |42, or |46, as the case may be. Each of the levers |52 and |54 extends through an opening |62 ln thehousing 34, which opening is large enough to permit the pivotal vibrations of the power unit and which is preferably closed by a sliding cover |64 mounted on4 the leverand yieldingly held againstv the face of the casing 34 by means such as a spring |66. In the particular arrangement illustrated, the levers |52 and |54 are long enough so that the operating rods |56 and |58 pass over the top of the engine 26 for operation by mechanism such as that shown in Figure 5.

In Figure 11 is shown an arrangement in which instead of the levers |52 and |54 pivoted on the frame 28, the change-speed elements are shifted by somewhat similar vertical levers 252, etc., extending vertically through the casing 34 and plvoted directly on the casing, and connected at their upper ends by relatively long operating rods 256 to the mechanism shown in Figure 5. In this case the members 252 and 256 are long enough so that the oscillations of the power unit, in a plane which is almost perpendicular to the operating rod 256, cause such an extremely small component lengthwise of the vehicle in their action on the rold 256 that they do not have any substantial effect on the operation of the gear shifting mechanism. That is, while the-means shown in Figure 11 is not quite as'accurate theoretically as the means shown in Figures l and 9 in eliminating the effect on the operating mechanism of the movements of the power unit, it is minimized to such an extent that there is no possibility of itsl interfering with the shifting of the gears or Abeen described in detail, it is not my intention to limit the scope of my invention to those particularrconstructions, or otherwise than by the terms of ythe appended claims.

I claim: 1. A vehicle having a support, a power unit including' change-speed mechanism and which is mounted on pivots for pivotal movement with respect to said support and which has independentposite directions therefrom and carrying road wheels driven 'by said power unit, and control means for the change-speed mechanism mounted on the support and operating said mechanism unaffected by pivotal movement of the power unit.A

pivotally mounted at its front and rear ends on pivots upon said support and which has axle means extending laterally therefrom and carrying road wheels and control -means for the change-speed mechanism mounted on the support and operating said mechanism unaffected by pivotal movement of the power unit.

3. A device of the `class describedicovmprising a support, a power unit mountedfior movement with respect to said support 'and including change-speed mechanism having an element movable to effect speedV changes and which is arranged at a neutral point relatively to the movement of said unith and an operating member mounted on the support and operatively engaging said element substantially at said neutral point and actuating it substantially unaiected by movement of said unit.

4. A device of the class described comprising a support, change-speed mechanism mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the lsupport and having two elements movable to effect speed changes, a pivoted lever operatively engaging each of said elements and'arranged to actuate them independently of said pivotal movement, and two operating devices for `the levers having interlocking means preventing operation of either lever Aunless the other is in neutral position.

5. A device of the class described comprising a support, change-speed mechanism mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the support and having two elements movable to effect speed changes, a pivoted lever operatively engaging each of said elements and arranged to actuate them independently of said pivotal movement, and operating means for the levers -having interlockirig means preventing operation of either lever unless the other is in neutral position.

' 6. A vehicle comprising a power unit mounted on pivots and having secured thereto axle means taking the reaction torque of the unit andvrotatably carrying road wheels, driving axle shafts lgive two forward speeds, or through at least one of the ring gearsinjthepther direction to give y.a reverse drive. Y

7. A vehicle comprising a power unit mounted on pivots and having secured thereto axle means taking the reaction ytorqueoi' the unit and rotatably carrying road wheels,`driving axle shafts connected to said wheels and having between and drivably connecting them a differential forming a part of said unit and which has two ring gears of different sizes', and an engine-driven shaft also forming a part of the power unit and having driving means arranged selectively to drive said differential through one or the other of\the ring gears.

8. A power unit comprising, in one rigidlyf connected assembly, an engine having a crankly-movable axle means extending laterally in opshaft provided with a flywheel, a clutch cooperating with the ywheel, a drivenl shaft coaxial wlth the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, a differential adjacent the driven shaft, an'd means on the driven shaft for selectively drivably connecting the driven shaft directly to the differential at different gear ratios, in combination with a support for said assembly on which it is pivoted about the axis of rotation of said crankshaft and said driven shaft, and means for] an axisparalleling the wheel axis, said unit alsol including an engine and an engine-driven shaft extending longitudinally of the vehiclev and per- -pendicular to the bevel gear axis and which shaft extends entirely across 'the faces of said differential bevel gears above the axis of said gears, bevel drive pinions -on said shaft engaging A said bevel gears. and means1 forl selectively causing one or the other of said pinions to be drivenl shaft, a dierentialv adjacent the driven shaft,

by the'shaft and to drivesaid differential.

10. A vehicle comprising a pivotally mounted power unityieldingly connected to a pair of road wheels and including a differential' driving said wheels and which has two bevel gearsarranged to be' driven about an axis parallelirig the wheel axis, said unit also including an engine and an `engine-driven shaft extending longitudinally of the vehicle and perpendicular to the bevel gear axisand which shaft extends entirely across the faces of 'said differential bevelI gears, bevel drive pinions on said shaft engaging said bevel gears, and means for selectively causing one or the .other of said pinions to be driven by the shaft and to drive said differential, said shaft being 'arranged to'cross the gears a short distance axis' of the driven shafts eccentricall'yl thereto, a plurality of ring gears of different sizes having teethvcurved at an angle to a radius of said gears, and driving pinions on the driving shaft on opposite sides of `thevdriven shaft constantly in mesh with said ring gears.

' 12. nIn a vehicle. a dierential comprising a .plurality of ring gears of different-sizes, an engine driven shaft having driving means for selectively driving said rings gears. control means for selecting the ring gear tobe driven, acasing enclosing said differential, a flexible cable extending throughan opening in said casing and connected to said control means, and a flexible conduit receiving thecable' and secured to the casing to close said opening thereby to prevent entry of' foreign matter into the casing or exit of lubricant therefrom.

' v13. A power unit comprising, in one rigidly connected assembly, anrengine having a crankshaft provided with 'a flywheel, a driven shaft co-A axial with the axis of rotation of the crankand means on the driven shaft for selectively drivably connecting the driven shaft directly to the differential at diierent gear ratios, 'in combination with a support for said assembly on /which it is pivoted. road wheels, and means yieldingiy connecting said assembly to the road wheels for yieldingly restraining the pivotal wheels and a power unit'having a dierential between and drivably axially connected' to said wheels and forming a part; of said unit and which .has two coaxial ring gears of different sizes, and an engine-driven shaft mounted eccentrically to the axis of said ring gears also forming a part of th/ power unit and having driving means ar- .ranged selectively vto drive said differential through one or the other of the ring gears on one side ofthe ring gear axis in one direction, Lto give two forward` speeds, or through at least lone of the ring gears on the other side of the 

